Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 8: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, who two days ago had lamented lack of support to the members of the judiciary from the central agencies and police in states, on Sunday highlighted the allege police misdemeanor at the police stations to force detenues to confess alleged crime.
Directly raising an accusing finger against the police, Ramana said the police stations pose the “highest threat” to human rights and dignity, which were “sacrosanct.”
“The threat to human rights and bodily integrity is the highest in police stations… Going by recent reports, even the privileged are not spared third-degree treatment,” the Chief Justice said.
Custodial torture and police atrocities still prevail despite constitutional guarantees, he said.
Lack of effective legal representation at police stations was a huge detriment to arrested or detained persons. The first hours of arrest or detention often decide the fate of the case for the accused, the CJI said apparently hinting that the police often use the third degree methods to force accused “confess” the crime even if not committed.
The top judge was speaking at the release of National Legal Services Authority’s legal services app and vision statement at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
The CJI had a word of advice for his fellow judges. He noted that if the judiciary wanted to gain the trust of the poor and vulnerable, it must assure the marginalised that it exists for them.
For the longest time, he noted, the vulnerable sections have lived outside the system of justice. “If judiciary wants to garner the faith of the citizens, we have to make everyone feel assured that we exist for them. For the longest time, the vulnerable population has lived outside the system of justice,” the CJI said .
Lengthy, expensive formal processes followed by courts dissuade the poor and the vulnerable. The judiciary’s toughest challenge today is to break these barriers, he said.
“If we want to remain as a society governed by the rule of law, it is imperative for us to bridge the gap of accessibility to justice between the highly privileged and the most vulnerable. For all times to come, we must remember that the realities of socio-economic diversity which prevail in our nation cannot ever be a reason for denial of rights. Let our past not determine our future…”
The Chief Justice felt the digital divide did not helped the cause of easy access to justice. Rural and remote areas suffer from lack of connectivity. “Accessing justice in India is not merely an aspirational goal. We need to work hand in hand with various wings of the government to make it a practical reality.”
The Chief Justice said he has already written to the government about the urgent need to bridge the digital chasm “on a priority basis”.
“Let us dream of a future based on legal mobility, a future where equality is a reality. That is why the project ‘Access to Justice’ is an unending mission,” CJI Ramana said.
Meanwhile, a couple of days after the CJI in connection with the alleged murder of the Dhanbad district sessions judge Uttam Anand, lambasted the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Intelligence Bureau for not doing enough to protect the members of the judiciary against the high-profile criminals against whom the judges often pronounced punishments, the CI said it had arrested five people in the last one month for allegedly posting derogatory content on social media against judges and the judiciary.
The arrests have been made in an unrelated case, in which a probe was launched by the CBI in November last year on the orders of the Andhra Pradesh high court.
Officials said they have also examined a Lok Sabha member – N Suresh and a former MLA – Amanchi Krishnamohan, both belonging to YSR Congress, in the matter to unearth a larger conspiracy.
CBI spokesperson R C Joshi said – “It was alleged that the accused, by intentionally targeting the judiciary, made derogatory posts on social media platforms against judges and the judiciary, following some court verdicts delivered by the judges of the high court of Andhra Pradesh”.
After registration of the case, the CBI traced 13 of the 16 accused named in the first information report (FIR) on various digital platforms, he said.
Two accused are said to be based in the US while another person is also abroad somewhere. “We have so far examined 11 out of the 13 accused people and arrested five out of them. Evidence against the remaining six accused is being evaluated for further necessary legal action. CBI is pursuing the case to secure the presence of two other accused said to be abroad for their examination,” Joshi added.
The CBI had taken over 12 First Information Reports (FIRs), registered by the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Division (CID) from April to July 2020 on the complaint of the Registrar General of Andhra Pradesh high court, and clubbed all these into one case.
According to the CBI FIR, it was alleged in the complaint that key persons who were occupying posts of prominence in the state of Andhra Pradesh, by intentionally targeting the Hon’ble judges, made interviews/posts/speeches attributing motive, caste and corrupt allegations to some of the Supreme Court judges and high court judges in delivering orders/judgements.
The CJI, on Friday, rued that judges are not on priority for investigating agencies and that their complaints are not heeded despite specialised agencies like the CBI getting roped in.
“In one or two places, the court ordered a CBI inquiry. I am very sorry to say that the CBI has done nothing in more than one year. At one place, I know, the CBI has done nothing. I think we expected some changes in CBI’s attitude. But there is no change in the attitude of the CBI. I am sorry to observe this but this is the situation,” the CJI told attorney general KK Venugopal, who was called by the bench for assistance.